The present invention relates to analysis of transaction data generally, and particularly to a method enabling a remotely-located user to perform analysis on a compilation of retail sales data (or other transactional data) via a computer system.
In order to succeed in the ever-changing retail sector, companies desire to maintain a constant watch on market conditions. Demand for products and the prices that consumers are willing to pay for them are continuously changing in response to shifting consumer tastes, activities of competitors, and the general economic climate. To excel in the retail market, whether you are a retailer or a supplier, requires detailed knowledge of the market conditions, and such detailed knowledge can best be obtained from a sophisticated analysis of retail sales data. Accordingly, retailers and their suppliers have begun to amass ever-growing compilations of data from retail transactions so they can keep a close eye on trends that become evident from the sales data.
In order to maximize the benefit from such large and complex compilations of data, there is a need for retailers and their suppliers to be able to access the data and perform highly individualized analysis on the data with minimal delay soon after the data is collected. The present invention fills this need.